Greetings Kankas and Kankies.
The following is a letter from Bellshill Kanka Nadeem which he sent to me and which I want to share with you.
He has repeated some things which we have said on this Blog many times, but it is refreshing to hear his thoughts as a footie fanatik who has only been to see Ankaragucu live on one occasion.
Most of his points will take time to implement, but it is not an impossible dream.
'Some people may ask me why Ankaragucu ? Living in Scotland and a 16 hour journey away, which includes driving from Glasgow to Manchester, then flying from Manchester to Munich onto Esenboga. There isnt one answer that i could give to anyone that asks, Is it the friendly people in Ankara who make me feel so welcome, is it the passionate fans when you enter the stadium or is it that Ankaragucu are a special club that you just never know what to expect? The truth is its a mix of all mentioned.
I made my first trip to Ankara in May 2010, i took in the Ankaragucu vs Fenerbahce match at the 19 Mayis. Ankara is a wonderful city with wonderful people. The one thing that surprised me is that this football mad city has a massive club they can support yet the locals favour the Istanbul 3 ? Why is this ? Well there are many answers to this question which i am going to point out. Ankaragucu has so much potential, but we need the people at the top of the club to make changes that will take the club forward. Compared to low league British clubs, Ankaragucu are years behind in certain areas. If they can address this then the potential of the club is massive.
Ankaragucu are a club in my heart now and always will be, i will be making trips over every season to see the club play. The worrying thing is that there are people with the club on there doorstep that live in Ankara who don't go and support the club.
So that leaves me as to where can the club go forward, the areas below are where i can think the club can improve and need to improve.
Merchandise and Ankaragucu Strips - It amazes me that Ankaragucu dont have an official club shop. When i was in Ankara it was difficult to find somewhere to buy a strip. Thanks to friends Jim and Harun i managed to get what i was looking for. The club is losing so much money with not having a club superstore. When in Ankara i saw Besiktas, Fenerbahce and Galatasaray shops, but no Anakragucu. Imagine at Eid when a kid wants a poster of his favourite player, or a DVD of the past season, or even an Ankaragucu book, where does he go ? There are none available. Its vital if Ankaragucu want to challenge the Istanbul 3 that they open shops and look at the British Clubs and see what merchandise can be sold. If 20,000 Ankaragucu fans buy a strip then that's a lot of money to be made and i'm sure those numbers will grow.
Tickets - There needs to be a ticket system, again when i was over for the game against Fenerbahce we couldnt get tickets until the last minute. In the UK you can phone up and pay over the phone with your card or go down to the ticket office and pay for your ticket. There needs to be better organisation, as if people find it difficult they can just walk away.
Stadium - The 19 Mayis is a special stadium with alot of memories, but if Ankaragucu want to move on we need a new modern 30,000 seated stadium. The facilities at 19 Mayis are poor, no seat numbers, no where you can go buy food or drinks. If Ankaragucu want to attract top players, then they need a stadium that is going to impress the players as that's where there new home is going to be.
Work with the Community - Work with local schools, and the Ankara community, give kids cheap tickets and make them want to come to watch Ankaragucu, they are the future of the club and the more fans the better. If i can travel all those miles to see the club then surely locals of Ankara can be persuaded to go watch there local club.
I just hope my letter reaches the right hands and can be acted upon. If you really care about the club and want to see Anakragucu as Turkish champions one day then at least give it some consideration. Ankaragucu is more than a club.
Nadeem'
Thanks for sharing this with us Nadeem and let's hope that it does filter through the other related Ankaragucu sites to the Ankaragucu corridors of power.
All the best from Eski Kanka Jim
The Round Ball in Ankara! Dedicated to football lovers in Ankara (Except for those who follow Osmanlispor)
The sad thing is that this is all so bloody obvious.
ReplyDeleteits the same with gencler chris, again they are a nice little club and the ankara locals should be doing more to support Ankaragucu and Gencler instead of jumping on the Istanbul ship.
ReplyDeleteIt was really sad to see my time in ankara with no club shops of either the ankara clubs.
Thanks for posting this jim
nadeem
As I mentioned to you during your visit Nadeem, this is a cultural thing which is difficult for us Brits/Aussies etc to understand.
ReplyDeleteIt will be almost impossible to change this cultural habit of following your father's team irrespective of where you are born. Yes, of course, in our countries, we normally support our home-town team or the team where you we are born.
To give you an example, and I'm sure Marash Kanka will forgive me for using him to show you how deep rooted this is.
When Marash Kanka's brother's son was born a few years ago in Karamanmaras, they painted his 'willie' red and yellow when he was only a few days old and took a photo of the event.
They were all Galatasaray supporters and so they want the baby to grow up into a Galatasaray supporter and there is no way out when you have a photo of your 'willie' painted in the colours of your father and grand-father's team.
Enough said ??!!
The only way to change things around is, as you said, put a Board of Directors in place who want to put Ankaragucu on the map, employ a famous creditable coach, bring top class players into the club and ........ voila ! local people will sit up and take note. Young boys will join the Club and so ...... will their sons ...... and their sons !!!
When will this happen ??? This question will remain on this Blog Site for an answer !!!
I agree Jim and you make good points, lets hope that our concerns are acted upon in the near future.
ReplyDeleteIn other news the club are closing to signing Aydin Toscali from Kayserispor. Hes a centre half. Ozat looks like he is favouring the turkish signings.
nadeem
The concerns will not be acted upon. We have made these arguements in person to directors of the both clubs. They have professed understanding but yet nothing ever happens.
ReplyDelete(Oz Kanka in depressed mode)
OZ Kanka - start taking positive pills my friend lol
ReplyDeletecan anyone translate these two pieces for me, i think it someting to do with ankaragucu having a 1 match stadium ban
http://guncel.turkcellsuperlig.com/UI/NewsDetail.aspx?id=25824
http://guncel.turkcellsuperlig.com/UI/NewsDetail.aspx?id=25822
nadeem
Chris and Damon are our resident translaters. So, over to them .....
ReplyDelete1-federation arbitration board rejects agucu's appeal against one-match ban. the board reduced the four-match ban on Umit Ozat to three.
ReplyDeletespine
Second one's more interesting and cryptic. Little Gokcek held a meeting with a load of former players and had this to say:
ReplyDelete"We're always open to criticism. All we ask is that it's constructive, not destructive. Everyone can make mistakes. The important thing is to learn from them and correct them. Our only aim is the success of Ankaragucu."
Asked why a whole load of youth trainers had been fired, he said:
"Unfortunately there is a huge amount of false information going round the Ankaragucu community. Opposition groups try to distort every issue. The names of those leaving the club were set a long time ago. It would not be right for us to talk behind their backs. We will press on with people who've served Ankaragucu and who will be more productive. We'll announce these names in one or two days. There've been a few mistakes in the youth setup. Ankaragucu's work was shared with other clubs. People will be appointed who'll look after Ankaragucu's interests. We have good reasons for those who are leaving us. These are things that will remain secret within the club."
No idea what he's talking about...
And in other news:
ReplyDeleteIt may not be the Turkcell Super League much longer. Rights holders Digiturk have cancelled Turkcell's contract and say they plan to auction naming rights soon.
I plan to enter for the right to call it the Spine Sideburn All-Singing All-Dancing Made of Dinosaurs Yay Ankara Super League.
Spine Sideburn
Apologies to Spine for omitting his name from our famous and prestigious band of translators, and thanks for your efforts young man.
ReplyDeleteIt also has to be said that Spine is one of the few Ingallishmen I have met with a great sense of humour !!!
Ho ho ho ha ha ha Spine - nice one !!!
spine thank you for the translation, Im still undecided weather Gokcek is good or bad for the club
ReplyDeletenadeem
Aydin Toscali the former kayserispor centre half has singed for Ankaragucu and was paraded to the press today. anyone know anything about him?
ReplyDeletenadeem
No club shop?No where to buy merchandise?What exactly ARE the mandarins in the club doing to promote the club there?
ReplyDeleteHaving spent some time in Turkey and not wishing to insult anyone, but sometimes the level of ineptitude is staggering.Actually its not even ineptitude is it, its more that they dont even seem to realise the most basic of things.
Sorry for the rant.
Dublin "going back to Turkey next month" Neil!
Ankaragucu store - Tandogan
ReplyDeletehttp://www.sporyolu.com/news_detail.php?id=15410
Volkan
Thanks for the link Volkan, but I'm afraid I have to agree with Neil that the 'provincial clubs' of Turkey just don't have a clue how to promote themselves.
ReplyDeleteAs you probably know, I'm a member of Hibernian FC Supporters Club and I can buy a zillion things from the Hibs Shop in person or on line. The same applies for most professional teams in the UK.
So, in the meantime, we will continue to shop 'off line' and 'in person' in Maniac Kanka Harun's Shop for Ankaragucu and Gencler things, which for those who are unaware of the address is .....
Hazal Spor
Menekse Sokak
Balkanoglu Carsisi 7/32
Kizilay